NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of people are celebrating at a Manhattan bar where riots helped trigger the birth of the gay rights movement in 1969 after the New York Senate approved same-sex marriage.
A street party erupted outside the Stonewall Inn, with celebrants waving rainbow flags and dancing after the historic vote. The Republican-led Senate approved legislation Friday night that will make gay marriage legal in the state. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has promised to sign the bill.
Queens teacher Eugene Lovendusky said he’s “spellbound” and “exhausted” by the outcome of Friday’s vote. The 26-year-old said he’s proud the Senate “finally stood on the right side of history.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the vote “a historic triumph for equality and freedom.”
New York becomes the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage.
